The present invention relates generally to hospital beds, and more particularly to an apparatus that prevents a patient from becoming entrapped between bed rails or between a mattress and bed rail of the hospital bed.
In hospital beds, it is common to provide bed rails that are perpendicular and adjacent to a top lateral side edge of the mattress so that a patient does not roll over and slip out of bed. Known bed rails either pivot away from the mattress, move slidably downward, or are easily removed to allow ingress, egress and care for the patient. Referring to FIG. 1, typically, bed rails 10 comprise a foot rail 12 being telescoped inside of a head rail 14 allowing for adjustment of the length of the bed rail as needed.
Recently, concerns have been raised regarding the safety of these bed rails. It has been recorded that patients have become asphyxiated between a bottom lateral rail of the bed rail and the top lateral side edge of the mattress when the mattress is in the horizontal position. In other situations, as the head of the mattress rotates upward toward a forty five degree angle with respect to the horizontal, a substantially vertical triangular shaped opening is formed between the bottom lateral rail and the top side edge of the mattress. In these situations, patients often bury their faces against the mattress as their body slips through the opening. Trapped in this position, a patient has nothing to grasp to pull themselves upward as one arm is usually pinned under their body. This is especially problematic for bed-ridden patients who are too weak to pull themselves back through the opening.
It has also been reported that patients slide either on their abdomen or on their back through an opening between the mattress and the head or foot rail. The patient becomes lodged between the mattress and the head or foot rail and is often trapped in an inverted position with their head and neck jammed into a hyper-flexed or hyper-extended position near the floor.
To further complicate matters, there is no standardization as to key dimensions of hospital beds including bed rails and mattresses. For example, mattress thicknesses of the same make vary by as much as five centimeters and often become softer with age. Further, mattresses shrink during refurbishing. Approximately one-quarter of mattresses are replaced annually, whereas a hospital bed lasts for twenty years. Consequently, mattresses are often purchased from companies other than the hospital bed manufacturer. The non-specific relationship of mattresses, bed rails and bed frames results in variations in distances between mattresses and bed rails.
Studies have shown that gaps of six centimeters or less between bed rails and mattresses are required to prevent death or severe injury.
Some attempts at preventing patient entrapment include bolsters or long pillows that sit up on the mattress adjacent the bed rail. However, patients often become lodged between the bolster and the mattress. It is also common for these bolsters to be placed on the floor during care of the patient and thus, the mattress becomes contaminated and must be cleaned.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to improve the health care field.
It is a further object of the present invention to improve the field of hospital beds.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hospital bed that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a hospital bed that prevents a patient from entrapping themselves between the bed rail and mattress of the hospital bed.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a transparent shield that prevents a patient from contacting lateral spaced rails of the bed rail.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a bed rail system that prevents a patient from contacting lateral spaced rails of the bed rail.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a transparent shield that easily mounts to the bed rail.
It is yet still a further object of the present invention to provide a transparent shield that permanently mounts to the bed rail.
It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide a transparent shield that mounts to the bed rail, wherein the shield covers a substantial portion of the bed rail and the opening between the top edge of the mattress and the bed rail.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a transparent shield that mounts to the bed rail, wherein the shield covers a substantial portion of the bed rail and the opening between the top edge of the mattress and the bed rail in all positions as the head frame of the hospital bed is rotated toward a forty five degree angle with respect to the horizontal.
It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide a universal transparent shield that efficiently cooperates with different sized bed rails, mattresses and hospital beds.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a transparent shield that is maintenance free, other than routine cleansing, once installed with the bed rail.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a transparent shield that does not impede the functions of the hospital bed, such as the raising or lowering of the bed or the bed rails.
These and other objects are obtained in accordance with the present invention wherein there is provided a shield for use with a hospital bed for preventing entrapment of a patient between a mattress and a bed rail of the hospital bed or between a pair of spaced rails of said bed rail. The bed rail includes a plurality of lateral rails interposed between a plurality of end rails. A top lateral side edge of the mattress and a bottom lateral rail of the bed rail forms a first vertical shaped opening. The shield includes at least one hand having an interior surface for contacting at least one lateral rail of said plurality of lateral rails. A vertically extending partition extends from said at least one hand. The partition is sized and shaped to substantially cover the first vertical opening. The partition is secured to the bed rail so that it cannot rotate away from, slide down, or fall away from the bed rail.
Typically, the hospital bed includes a head frame such that said head frame can be positioned between zero degrees in a non-rotated position and forty five degrees in a fully rotated position with respect to the horizontal. In the fully rotated position, the bottom lateral rail and the top lateral side edge of the mattress forms a second vertical shaped opening. The partition is sized and shaped to substantially cover said vertical shaped opening at all positions between the first and second vertical shaped openings.
The partition includes a top lateral edge and the hand laterally extends across the entire top lateral edge of the partition. In an alternative embodiment, a plurality of hands are interspaced across the top lateral edge of the partition. Typically, the hand is cylindrical shaped to substantially conform to the lateral rails. The partition is secured to at least one lateral rail using a clamp. For a permanent mount, the clamp is riveted to the partition. The partition is transparent and usually made from a polycarbonate material.